Induced Hydrophilicity of the Nanoclay on the Pervaporation Performance of Cross-Linked Poly(vinyl alcohol) Nanocomposite Membranes

In the present study, a novel poly(vinyl alcohol) membrane system was developed by a systematic approach for the pervaporation separation of water-isopropanol azeotropic mixtures. Poly(vinyl alcohol) with 5vol% cross-linked membranes showed water permeance of 4166 gpu with intrinsic selectivity 47. To further enhance the separation efficiency a hydrophilic nanofiller, bentonite nanoclay, is reinforced with cross-linked poly(vinyl alcohol) (5vol% glutraldehyde) membranes. The water permeance of the membranes increased to 8232 gpu, which is 100% more than that of cross-linked membranes. Membrane selectivity and the overall pervaporation performance also showed about 63 and 157% increment, respectively.